A Wedding in Hong Kong can take place at any venue including a marriage registry, hotel, private home or a public space. You do not have to be a resident to get married in Hong Kong but all couples must give notice in advance to the registrar if they intend to legally register their marriage in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong boasts many well known 5 star hotels featuring high levels of service and luxurious surroundings to ensure that your event is stylish and elegant. Another very popular choice are the cities numerous Chinese restaurants that offer traditional Chinese wedding banquets. Banquets in hotels and restaurants are typically charged per table (12 people per table) and require a minimum number of tables to be booked or a minimum food and beverage consumption charge. As an alternative to a hotel or restaurant you can choose to wed at one of the many beaches and country parks in Hong Kong, preferably not during the hot and wet typhoon season in Summer (June-August).
Other choices for smaller weddings include the renting of a boat such as a traditional or modern Chinese junk or even one of the famous Star ferries. Many of Hong Kong's country clubs and golf courses allow non members to book their facilities for weddings, providing some great locations for an al fresco wedding. You can browse a selection of locations for your wedding ceremony and reception in our directory of Hong Kong wedding venues.
Each year some of the city's top hotels host wedding fairs to showcase their venues. These fairs are a great place to see how the various locations within the venue can be utilized for your wedding. The fairs are also attended by wedding vendors that can work alongside the hotel to offer you additional services for your wedding such as photography and invitations. Some, such as the Island Shangri-La's Wedding Fair also feature fashion shows of wedding gowns from designers and bridal boutiques. There are also a large number of wedding expositions held each year that are attended mostly by local couples, including several at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Hong Kong is a modern, cosmopolitan city with a diverse international background, therefore many couples choose to mix both Chinese and western elements in their wedding to create an East meets West fusion of traditions and cultures. This often includes two complete sets of events on one (very long) day starting with early morning preparations and a traditional Chinese tea ceremony with parents followed by a western ceremony in a church or civil venue. Many brides choose to wear two separate outfits on their wedding day, a western style wedding gown for the ceremony and the entrance to the evening banquet, plus a traditional Chinese Qipao for the tea ceremony and later in the banquet. During the wedding banquet the couple will move from table to table to thank the guests then soon after the meal is completed the couple and their families will stand by the entrance to bid their guests farewell as they leave.
Many couples do not have a western style gift registry or expect physical gifts from attendees of their reception. Instead, it is traditional for guests attending a Chinese wedding banquet to give the couple a gift in the form of "Lai See" (translated as lucky money). Lai See is a cash gift that is given in a red envelope that is typically an amount that covers the cost of the guest's meal or a little extra for the couple. Traditionally Lai See packets are either Red or Gold and are usually decorated with symbols that signify the bestowing of luck, health and prosperity.
Just as white is a common theme for Western weddings, red is the prevalent color for Chinese weddings including most of the decorations, such as red lanterns and floral arrangements. Another common theme is the double happiness symbol which represents the happiness of the couple together by using the characters for happiness side by side (囍).
Notice can be given in person at your chosen marriage registry or online at the government website, notice can also be given on your behalf by a civil celebrant. The law requires that the marriage must take place between 15 days to 3 months after the notice has been given. During that period civil ceremonies performed by a celebrant or religious ceremonies performed by a minister in a place of worship are both legally binding. You can find more details using the links below.
To see the address of marriage registries in Hong Kong click here.
For a list of licensed places of worship click here.
To see a list of civil celebrants in Hong Kong click here
For couples who live outside Hong Kong more details can be found by clicking here.
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